What would you do with "These Neighbors"

[devotedchristian]

Our neighbors (2 doors down from us) have a dog...who withOUT fail EVERY SINGLE NIGHT...starts barking at 9:30pm sharp and continues until well after Midnight.

It is constant and he never stops. We have a 2 year old who is losing sleep because of this dog.

Also, since we live in a Cul de Sac, they have started playing Basketball at 1:00am. This is ridiculus!

I have called the Police on them 1 time hoping they will take the hint but they do NOT. I don't know what to do. We live in a Subdivision with a HOA and I am close to reporting them to the HOA.

But I don't think the HOA can do anything. Can they?

What would you do with these Neighbors?

 

[kelleigh1]

If your town has a noise ordinance, they certainly can do something about them.

I've had some similar issues with neighbors lately. My favorite was the guy right next door who decided to tear up his driveway at 7:00 am on a Saturday - a driveway which quite literally is right outside my bedroom window. Imagine how happy that made me. And when I call the police to find out about the noice ordinance in this city, he tells me that they can begin work at 7am. Apparently this is 7 days a week. But my neighbor is an @$$ and waited until Saturday to do it because he doesn't care about anyone except himself. And then he paved it on a Monday morning, a week an a half later on a day when I was off when it was extremely hot and the smell of the hot, fresh tar made us sick. Thankfully we had plans for that day and couldn't get out of the house fast enough.

But call and find out what the noise ordinance is. They definitely shouldn't be out there at 1am and that dog needs to be quieted - probably requiring that it be brought in the house - after a certain time.

 

[Daxx]

What would you do with these Neighbors?

Have you tried talking to them? I'd explain that the late night b-ball games and howling dog are disruptive to everyone's sleep. How about the neighbors on the other side of the disruptive neighbors? How do they feel? If they're just as miffed, ask them to speak to the noise-makers w/you.

If talking to them doesn't work, then call animal control about the dog. And, if the b-ball games continue, go to the HOA. If neither works, invest in a pair of good earplugs!

 

[MushyMushy]

Continue to call and turn them in to the police AND to the HOA. Become a thorn in somebody's side until something is done about it.

 

[lclark0621]

Have you talked to them about it? Try being neighborly & friendly. Explain the situation.

We had a neighbor behind us that would let their dog out at 9:00pm every ngiht & would leave it out there until 6:00am every morning. The dog would start barking at 9:01pm & not stop untill they brought it in, in the morning. It was a CONSTANT bark.

We have an almost 3 year old who was losing sleep over it, as were we. We tried to approach them nicely. But they got beligerent & nasty.

So we found out the town's noise laws. And EVERY night at exactly 10:00pm we called the police. The police were very nice & helpful. They completely understood. After the 3rd visit, they started siting them with fines.

After the neighbor realized we were serious, they stopped letting their dog out at night.

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

You have to keep calling the police. Most citys will give one or two verbal warnings and then start giving fines. They probably told the police they would stop hoping that you wouldn't bother calling the police again. Keep calling.

 

[ilovepcot]

Barking dogs can drive one over the edge. I know. DH and I lost sleep from a large outside dog that lived behind our house. Got so bad that tears literally ran down my face in the middle of the night because that blasted dog wouldn't stop barking and we weren't getting any sleep. Finally, I got so *insane* with lack of sleep and anger that I did the unthinkable. I phoned the owners of the barking dog at 3:30 a.m. (yes the dog was barking at that hour) and when the lady answered, I began to BARK *loud as I could* in her ear, sounding very much like her dog. The outside barking soon stopped and never happened again. Smart lady!

Before I became a "dog for the night", we did try contacting the proper agency to have this matter handled. There was sooooo much red tape involved that we were pretty much left on our own to deal with it.

 

[canwegosoon]

I would call the police(after I also checked the noise ord. with the local govt officals).. I had to call the police every night beacause the house across the street from me had HS student parties every FRI and Sat night. The kicker was the house wasn't finished construction after a huge fire. The police weren't too thrilled with me...but they did manage to arrest at least one person ever night I called. I also had to call the building department and make sure the code enforcement officer notified the police that no one was to be in that home . Luckly on the 3rd call it has stopped.

 

[FSUGrad97]

It depends on the HOA, and what they are able to enforce. You can check out the deed restrictions to see what they have to say about pets.

In our old neighborhood, we had a neighbor who had a basketball goal, and the ball was constantly on our property and would hit (but not damage) our cars. We tried talking to the neighbors, but they were pretty unresponsive until it hit my husband's truck and set off the alarm.

DH told the kids to get their parents (they lived down the street), and the neighbors came out when they heard the alarm. DH told them that we didn't mind them playing ball, but the ball needed to stay in their yard/driveway (we lived in a cul-de-sac also). It just happened that there was a monthly HOA meeting that week, and DH brought it up at the meeting. Our HOA sent out a notice in the newsletter, and we never had a problem after that.

Well, there was the time they had a family get together, and two family members got into a fight about a Hank Williams Jr. CD. Now that was some entertainment!

Personally, I would call the HOA and the police. Playing basketball at 1:00 a.m. is ridiculous, and eventually, the cops will get tired of having to come out and will take care of both of the problems.

Good luck in resolving your neighbor issue! I know how annoying inconsiderate neighbors can be.

 

[lclark0621]

Barking dogs can drive one over the edge. I know. DH and I lost sleep from a large outside dog that lived behind our house. Got so bad that tears literally ran down my face in the middle of the night because that blasted dog wouldn't stop barking and we weren't getting any sleep. Finally, I got so *insane* with lack of sleep and anger that I did the unthinkable. I phoned the owners of the barking dog at 3:30 a.m. (yes the dog was barking at that hour) and when the lady answered, I began to BARK *loud as I could* in her ear, sounding very much like her dog. The outside barking soon stopped and never happened again. Smart lady!

Before I became a "dog for the night", we did try contacting the proper agency to have this matter handled. There was sooooo much red tape involved that we were pretty much left on our own to deal with it.

I know exactly how you felt! It is how I felt every night to.

I never thought of calling them & barking though. That must have been an interesting call to get at 3:30am.

 

[lindakmonty]

keep calling the police and also some cities have a noise ordinance. No noise or construction until at least 9am. Its worth checking into. If you know them, talk to them. Good luck

 

[CathrynRose]

I dont know about the neighbor laws, etc.

But for you and your families sleep and sanity, I highly reccomend a sound machine (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=sound+machine&spell=1)

It muffles out everything - so you'll never be woken again from any sound.

I also bring one along to WDW - to drown out any noise outside my hotel door!

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

Barking dogs can drive one over the edge. I know. DH and I lost sleep from a large outside dog that lived behind our house. Got so bad that tears literally ran down my face in the middle of the night because that blasted dog wouldn't stop barking and we weren't getting any sleep. Finally, I got so *insane* with lack of sleep and anger that I did the unthinkable. I phoned the owners of the barking dog at 3:30 a.m. (yes the dog was barking at that hour) and when the lady answered, I began to BARK *loud as I could* in her ear, sounding very much like her dog. The outside barking soon stopped and never happened again. Smart lady!

Before I became a "dog for the night", we did try contacting the proper agency to have this matter handled. There was sooooo much red tape involved that we were pretty much left on our own to deal with it.

Oh my! I might have to steal that idea to use on my neighbors. They have two little yappy dogs that they let out at any hour of the day or night. These dogs bark at everything and anything. Even when the people are out with the dogs barking they do nothing to stop it. Their tenants moved last weekend, I hope they move out soon too. (Their dogs are just the icing on the cake of their strange-ness.)

You can try talking to the neighbors. Don't be surprised if it is unsuccessful. We have tried that with both neighbors with no success. If the dogs are barking incessantly call the police. My other neighbor has two large dogs that used to bark all the time for hours on end. Not usually at night, but even during the day it got annoying. One of the neighbors behind him called the police. He was ticketed and fined. Now his dogs are rarely outside barking. They still bark but he stops it pretty quickly.

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

I had a similar problem several years ago. We didn't know the neighbors as we recently moved into the neighborhood, so I left a letter in their mailbox. It was short and polite, but slightly snotty at the same time, and told them if their dogs constant bark wouldn't stop the police would be notified. The barking has stopped!!
If you're not into a face-to-face talk, a letter might work. You could even mail it certified so you have proof they did receive it, in case you think it might get ugly in the future.

 

[luvwinnie]

We have had similar problems and I don't confront them directly because then IF the cops have to be called, it's obvious who did the calling. I just call the police and let them handle it.

 

[Chicago526]

I'd try the HOA first (unless you've found them to be useless in the paste). My old HOA took things like this very seriously, and would fine any one for any infraction, usually they wouldn't even give a warning! If after repeated fines the situation wasn't resolved, they'd take the owner to court!

If the HOA cannot or will not help, then I'd go the next step and call the police (non-emergency line) and ask what the ordinance is and make a complaint if they are violating.

 

[ilovepcot]

I dont know about the neighbor laws, etc.

But for you and your families sleep and sanity, I highly reccomend a sound machine (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=sound+machine&spell=1)

It muffles out everything - so you'll never be woken again from any sound.

I also bring one along to WDW - to drown out any noise outside my hotel door!

I went to Sharper Image and paid $200 plus tax for a good quality sound machine that had "white noise" and it's been a great machine. Been going every night for over 8 years now! And yes, on vacations also.

I've noticed that it matters *greatly* with my machine where it's placed in order to totally block out certain sounds. A dog, for instance, with a really loud, high pitched yap requires the machine to be placed between the area from where the sound comes and the side of the room I'm sleeping on. If the machine is placed on the opposite side, I can still hear the yap, although it's not nearly as loud. Anyway, the ugly incident with the neighbors happened prior to buying the sound machine but it's definitely what led to the purchase.

 

[ceiligh1]

I have another perspecitive. We had a neighbor who had a barking dog, would let them outside at night barked until morning. I finally called the police, after trying to talk to the mother several times, only to find out that they could not do anything because we lived in an HOA and the HOA governed the area. Well our HOA had no way to enforce the rules so we had to put up with it. Luckly they got rid of the dog and we moved so I dont need to deal with that anymore. Now I live in a HOA that can enforce the rules if I need them to do so.